Author's Rail-Fanning Trip
by TimmyTurnerFan
Summary: NOTE: This story is mainly for train lovers and rail fans and people who like railroad crossings. Even though I'm the main character in my story, I'm telling most of this in third person P.O.V. Miguel and his friends Theo and Andy are secretly watching me to make sure I don't get into trouble. See how many trains I watch go by and what kinds of trains I see!


**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Maya and Miguel characters. This is meant to be Present-Tense as I like to do a lot of my stories, but some of it will be past tense.

**The Story:**

**Narrator's P.O.V.**

It is a sunny morning and William, wearing a brown T-shirt, blue jeans, sunglasses, and a thick black and red jacket, has taken a bus-trip from his home across a big city in Arizona. He is out on a train-watching trip, or as railfans call it, a rail-fanning trip. He wants to watch trains go by and that is what he is setting out to do. He is visiting a railroad crossing protected by four railroad crossing signals with gates, two of which are on raised medians. This crossing is on a 6-lane two way street and on a 2-Track Union Pacific Railroad Line and train traffic is rather busy on this line.

Meanwhile, high up in a tree not too far back from William or the railroad crossing he's visiting are three figures, Maya and Miguel cartoon characters Miguel and his friends Theodore (Theo) and Andreas (Andy). Well, let's let them talk. This could be a Multi-Point-of-View if you catch my drift. Well, a narrator's point of view, and character's point of view.

**Miguel's P.O.V.**

Hi, I'm Miguel and I'm sitting up here in this tree with my friends Theo and Andy.

"Hello!" says Andy waving his hand.

"Hey there!" says Theo waving his.

As you can see, William has come here to watch look watch trains go by that railroad crossing over there.

"What William doesn't know is," my friend Andy says, "we're here watching William."

"And we're making sure he doesn't get himself into trouble," says my other friend Theo.

"And if he does get into trouble," Andy says.

"Or looks like he's getting into trouble," Theo says.

Like, if he gets too close to the train tracks as a train is coming, or if he lingers at the railroad tracks, we spring into action and move him back from the tracks to safety.

"Yeah," says Theo, "that way he won't get hurt."

"And it's for his own safety," says Andy, "and it's our job to watch him and make sure he stays safe."

**Narrator's P.O.V.**

With that said, Miguel, Theo, and Andy do something a bit spectacular. They put out their hands and touch with their opposing hands (**A/N Andy has two full arms and both hands in this story) **a button on wrist bands they are wearing and turn themselves from their human forms into sea gulls, still sitting in the tree but watching William, who is, as Andy said, oblivious to their presence. He thinks he's alone and no one on earth is watching him, except maybe the passersby, but he's being watched like a hawk by Miguel, Theo, and Andy, who have taken the form of sea gulls.

Meanwhile, vehicular traffic is passing by and crossing the tracks in both directions and road traffic is busy.

Then minutes later, as vehicular traffic is still carrying on, the railroad crossing signal lights and gate lights start to turn on and flash and the bells start to sound. William has his camera with him and starts taking pictures of the signals and gates. Then four seconds after the lights appear and the bells ring, all four gates start to descend and all traffic approaching the crossing stop as the gates block the cars from crossing the tracks. William turns a little towards his left and sees a Union Pacific train coming with three yellow General Electric (G.E.) Dash 8 40B diesel locomotives with gray tops and red letters and numbers on them. About seven to eight seconds after the gates are completely horizontal, the train's horn sounds with two long blasts, one short blast, and one long blast as the lead locomotive roars through the crossing. The three locomotives are hauling a double-stack train heading towards California. William takes pictures of all these events in progress.

William does get closer to the crossing to take more shots. However, when it looks to Miguel, Theo, and Andy like he's getting too close for safety, they quickly take flight and sore right over to him. Miguel grabs the back collar William's jacket with his talons, Theo grabs William's left coat sleeve with his talons and Andy grabs William's right sleeve. William does freak out a bit but manages to keep a tight grip on his camera. Miguel and his friends lift William off the ground and bring him a ways back from the fast-passing train. William wasn't trying to get too close to the train and wasn't trying to get himself hurt, Miguel and his friends do not want to take any chances. They put William down gentley on his feet when they think he's far back enough and then fly back to the tree they were in, but not without William watching them. Then William turns his attention back to the train unaware that he has just been protected by Miguel and his friends disguised as sea-gulls. He knows Miguel, Theo, and Andy, they live with him, but he doesn't know they're secretly watching him!

After a little more than three minutes, the train clears the crossing. A few seconds after the last double-stack car passes the crossing, the bells stop ringing and the gates start to go up. Once the gate arms are up, the signal and gate lights time out and street traffic starts moving again.

William decides to stay and wait for some more trains to go by. Meanwhile, Miguel, Theo, and Andy swoop down from the tree they're in and turn themselves into rabbits. Miguel turns into a brown rabbit, Theo turns into a black rabbit, and Andy turns into a white rabbit. Knowing there could be hawks around, they quickly dig wholes in the ground near the tree and go into them and stick their heads out watching William.

Minutes later, the railroad crossing lights and bells reactivate and the gates make their way back down to restrict traffic from crossing the tracks and all traffic stops. William looks to his left but doesn't see a train but does hear whistles blasting in the pattern as the last train did. This train travels in the opposite direction on the other track and it too has three locomotives, also Dash 8-40Bs, and this train is hauling nothing but brown box cars, although some are bigger than others. William takes pictures of this train too. This train takes almost three minute. But after the train clears the crossing, the gates do not go back up immediately. On the contrary, another train is on its way heading in the same direction as the first train was so it's a second train. This train carries a variety of freight cars, including box cars, tanker cars, covered hopper cars and gondola cars.

After this train passes and after like almost eight minutes of activity, the crossing gates finally rise back up and the lights go out. William isn't ready to leave just yet. He wants to see at least one more train go by.

Two minutes after the train passes, Miguel, Theo, and Andy turn back into their regular selves and walk up to William.

"Hey, William!" Miguel calls from behind.

William turns around and is surprised to see Miguel and his friends coming up to him. They then encircle him and talk to him.

"How are ya?" Miguel asks.

"Just fine," William says.

"Stayin' outta trouble?" asks Andy.

"Yeah," William answers, "I am. What are you guys doing?"

"We came to check on you to see how you were doing," says Theo.

"And making sure you're not doing anything dangerous," says Andy.

"Don't worry," William says, "I'm going to be careful. I mean, you won't believe what happened to me earlier today, three sea gulls unexpectedly showed up and lifted me away from the tracks!"

"Really," asks Theo, even though he and Miguel and Andy know that they were the sea gulls but they don't let William know that.

"They probably wanted you to be careful," says Miguel.

"Sea gulls?" William asks. "Wanting me to be careful?"

"Maybe these were very caring sea gulls," says Andy, "and they were concerned for your safety."

"And wanted to make sure you didn't get yourself hurt," Miguel says.

"Mm-hmm!" William says. "Well, they did freak me out when they put their feet on me and lifted me off the ground, but if they were trying to protect me, I appreciate what they were doing. If I could just see them again I could thank them."

"I'm sure they probably know you're welcome William," says Theo.

"Well let's leave William alone for now," says Miguel to his friends.

"Yeah," says Andy.

"See you at home, William," says Miguel, "and be careful!"

"Will do, guys," says William.

And Miguel and his friends walk away. Then when William's not looking, they turn back into rabbits and hide in their wholes still monitoring William

More than ten minutes later, William's wish to see another train comes true when the four crossing signals flash and ring and the gates go back down and traffic stops before the gates go down. There goes another horn! But as that horn is blasting, it sounds like another horn is blasting. William suspects and then figures out that there are two trains coming, thinking, and hoping, they're traveling on different tracks of each other. William looks towards his left and sees a west-bound freight train coming on one track but when he looks toward his right, he waits to see the other train going the opposite direction to come and he sees it and it does come on the other section of track. The east-bound train enters the crossing first and this is another double-stack train lead by four locomotives. Then the west-bound train enters the crossing and this is another freight train with varying freight cars and has more variety than the previous train with varying freight cars, and this train has five locomotives. It has all the freight cars the other train has but has other freight cars the other train didn't have and is longer. The stack train is also longer than the previous one was.

William can see both trains very easily because the varying freight train is on the track nearer to him and the double stack car is on the other track and the top of the stack cars can be seen more easily. If he was on the other side of the tracks or if the double stack car was on the closer track, the freight train that is nearest to him would be more difficult to see.

The double-stack train finishes before the various freight train does and clears the crossing a minute later. Then seconds after that train passes, the bells stop ringing, the gates go back up and the lights flash. William decides he's seen enough and heads back home. After he walks pasts Miguel, Theo, and Andy, they turn into Sea Gulls and fly back to their apartment before William gets back there.

The End

**Author's Note:** This story is based on a fantasy I began to entertain in October 2009. Well, sometime in Fall 2009, and this was of me going on a rail-fanning trip at this made up crossing I modeled after a railroad crossing on Prince Road here in Tucson, and this was many months after my last visit to that crossing in January of that year. Unfortunately for me and other railfans who liked that crossing, that crossing is gone and is now an overpass. And it was my most favorite railroad crossing in Tucson too. Thankfully there are still many other railroad crossings in Tucson and it was only one crossing, although they also got rid of the one on Twin Peaks Road a few years before after they built that new Twin Peaks Road Overpass.

Anyway, in this fantasy, I decided to include Miguel, Theo, and Andy for the fun of it. I had lots of fantasies about Miguel, Theo, and Andy that year and in 2008 and in 2010 and years after. I don't entertain fantasies about them as much anymore, but they were popular to me between late 2007, when I started watching the show, and some time in 2011 or 2012.

And also, I know Andy is not named Andreas, I named him that name just for the fun of it.

Thanks for Reading

**Further Details about this Railroad Crossing (Only if you're interested):** Like Prince Road had, this crossing had, and still has, since this is my railroad crossing, four crossing signals and four gates. Last time I visited Prince Road, there was one pedestal mounted gate signal and three mast-mounted gate signals, two of which were median signals. The pedestal signal had 12x24 G.E./ Harmon Uniform-Lens L.E.D.s, at least on the front side. The rear facing lights were 12x20 incandescent lights and the only set of incandescent lights at that crossing, and the signal had a General Signals (G.S.) type 1 electronic bell. The mast signal on the same side of it had 12x20 G.E. Harmon pixilated L.E.D.s and no bell. The other two signals on the opposite side of the crossing were both Western Cullen Hayes (W.C.H.) signals with (W.C.H.) 12x24 red-lens L.E.D.s and the shoulder signal had a W.C.H. electronic bell. The median signal on that crossing didn't have one. And all four gates had gate L.E.D.s, most of which were Alstom Aurora gate L.E.D.s

As for my imaginary crossing, well first, I had it near a freeway like Prince Road was to Interstate 10, but then I decided not to have it be so close to a freeway, that's kind of stupid even to me even though I like railroad crossings. And we're going to lose two more crossings in Tucson because of this (Ruthrauff Road and Ina Road.)

All four of my signals have forward and rear facing12x24 G.E./Harmon Uniform Lens fading L.E.D. flashers. Back then I didn't like the Harmon Uniform L.E.D.s because I thought they were ugly but they were one of the L.E.D. types Union Pacific was using, but for some reason I decided to include them in my imagination, and, it turns out, I like the Harmon L.E.D.s now because they are so bright. I mean they still don't have good looking lenses but I'm more tolerating of them now. All four crossbucks are white and double-sided with the word RAILROAD CROSSING on both sides of the crossbuck in black letters. And all four signals have below the crossbucks and above the flashers white 2 Tracks signs with black letters and numbers. Both shoulder signals have G.S. type 1 electronic bells, my most favorite railroad crossing bells in the world; the median signals have no bells.

The crossing gates are the common crossing gates we use in the U.S. as well as in Canada. These gates are aluminum-fiberglass gates with reflective red and white slanted stripes. The gate lights, well they are L.E.D. as well but these types of gate lights, well they do exist, just not as railroad crossing gate lights. These lights are the new L.E.D. lights used on School Bus Stop signs. Look up School Bus Stop Sign lights on Google Images or the next times you see school buses, and you're on the left side of the bus, look closely at the STOP sign lights and you'll know if they're L.E.D. But these are what I use on my crossing gate lights (and I wish they were used on crossing gate lights in real life, they would make great gate lights, but a railfan can dream can he not?) These lights are 7" in diameter and they are very bright and can be seen from a half-mile away (at least in my imagination.) I plan on using these gate lights in some of my future fanfics.

The crossing gates were later changed to vertically striped gate lights in late 2012 or early 2013 for new Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (M.U.T.C.D.) rules and purposes, but the gate lights are still the same as before.

Thanks for Reading


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